1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exposure method and an exposure apparatus for forming a different exposure pattern on each of a plurality of exposure areas set on a subject to be exposed while conveying the subject to be exposed in one direction. In particular, the invention relates to an exposure method and an exposure apparatus for enhancing formation efficiency of a plurality of types of exposure patterns.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, in this type of exposure method, while a subject to be exposed is being conveyed in one direction, one mask pattern group of a photomask is selected and one exposure pattern group is formed on a predetermined exposure area of a subject to be exposed by exposure using the one mask pattern group. Next, the subject to be exposed is returned to a stand-by position at which the subject to be exposed is positioned before starting exposure, and then, the mask pattern group of the photomask is switched to another mask pattern group, and thereafter, the subject to be exposed is conveyed again and another exposure pattern group is formed on another exposure area of the subject to be exposed by exposure using the another mask pattern group (for example, see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2008-310217).
However, in such a conventional exposure method, every time the exposure by one mask pattern group is completed, the subject to be exposed is returned to the standby position at which the subject to be exposed is positioned before the exposure is started, so that the more the types of the exposure patterns to be formed, the longer the total movement distance in which the subject to be exposed moves until all exposures to the subject to be exposed are completed. Therefore, when a plurality of exposure patterns is formed on the same subject to be exposed, there is a problem that the formation efficiency of exposure patterns is low.
Therefore, in view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an exposure method and an exposure apparatus for enhancing the formation efficiency of a plurality of types of exposure patterns on the same subject to be exposed.